The present invention relates generally to a freshness indicator for containers of perishable foodstuff, and more particularly but not exclusively, to an indicator associable with a bottle containing infant fluid nutrition that visualizes important information concerning the bottle contents.
For purposes of this application, fluid nutrition for infants is categorized into two classes: breast milk and formula. These categories are not always easily differentiated when disposed in a container, particularly when a caregiver is moving quickly to make preparations for feeding the infant. It is the case that these products are often disposed in identical baby bottles, side-by-side on a refrigerator shelf. Each product has specifics as to freshness and shelf-life, and it is important for a caregiver to be able to quickly, confidently, and unambiguously make a correct decision for which type of product to be fed to the infant, as well as avoiding products that exceed freshness criteria.
With respect to breast milk, it is important that the caregiver be able to determine when the breast milk was pumped/expires which is important when gauging a proper time for feeding, refrigerating, and/or freezing the breast milk. This is also true for formula: that the caregiver be able to determine when the formula was prepared in order to gauge a proper time for feeding, refrigerating, and/or discarding it.
Efficient organization of fluid nutrition is important to minimize waste, free valuable time for the caregiver for more important tasks, and reduce possible confusion over care and feeding of the infant. A challenge to conventional organization solutions is that there is no universal solution for storing and delivering infant fluid nutrition having visually similar classes, with each class having a different freshness expiration metric. There are different delivery systems (e.g., baby bottles), many of which also serve as storage devices.
No single conventional add-on product easily identifies when a volume of breast milk was pumped/expires, identifies when a particular quantity of formula was prepared, and distinguishes between the two categories of products stored for use in a refrigerator while being universally applicable to any type of delivery and/or storage solution.
Conventional organizational systems include: (1) sticky notes; (2) masking tape/label; (3) direct marking with grease pencil or the like; (4) independent electronic timers; and (5) other systems, including electronic timers, which are integrated into a bottle. These systems have drawbacks that can be improved upon to enable a single universal solution. The drawbacks include smudging, deposit of hard-to-remove residues, propensity for disassociation with the bottle, specialization for one of the fluid nutrition systems, and/or inability to be adapted to a caregiver's choice of fluid delivery system.
What is needed is an apparatus and method for a single universal solution for a freshness indicator of infant fluid nutrition disposed within a delivery and/or storage system.